Shattered Snowglobe
by Shade5
Summary: Ch. 8 added! Sydney returns home to discover that she and a special companion will soon take down SD-6...for good. PLEASE R/R!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 1  
  
Author: Shade  
  
Disclaimer: None of these characters (or Starbucks) are mine...all ABC, Bad Robot, J.J. Abrams, etc.  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 1  
  
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!  
  
Agent Michael Vaughn rolled over wearily and hit the snooze button on his alarm clock.  
  
"Ahhh, five more minutes to dream of Sydney," he thought to himself as he curled back up.  
  
But five minutes later, the alarm interrupted his dreams again and Vaughn succumbed to the vexatious beeping.  
  
He haphazardly got up, put his slippers on, and made his way towards the kitchen like a zombie, still half asleep with Sydney Bristow spinning around in his head.  
  
Vaughn put on a pot of coffee and opened the fridge to retrieve some milk. "Ugh," he muttered, now fully awake after discovering that he was out of milk. He couldn't deal with black coffee. He took off the coffee pot and headed into his bathroom to take a shower and temporarily wash away his Sydney-filled dreams.  
  
Ten minutes later, Vaughn stepped out of the shower and knotted a pristine white towel across his waist. He shaved and put some gel in his hair to give him his signature tousled look. He put on a nice suit - he would be meeting Sydney today in the warehouse.  
  
Vaughn was about to leave when he remembered the coffee. "Damn," he muttered, vowing to clean up later and hit a Starbucks on the way to work.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn pulled up to the Starbucks and absent-mindedly parked his SUV. This was a detour not congruent with his morning routine, but he was a man who needed his coffee. He was also a man who couldn't be late to work.  
  
He nonchalantly weaved through the crowd up to the counter, determined to get his coffee and still see Sydney on time. "Tall please," he said kindly to the cashier. He paid and walked over to the pick up counter to wait for his coffee.  
  
Vaughn stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched the crowd. All those people with normal lives. The ones who didn't have to meet the people they loved and cared about in deserted warehouses. A young blonde man caught his attention. He looked vaguely familiar but Vaughn couldn't place where he knew this man from. Whoever he was, he was sitting with an attractive brunette and they were discussing something heatedly.  
  
"Tall!" Vaughn heard his order called and turned to retrieve it. "To go sir?" the cashier inquired.  
  
"Actually, I think I'll stay," Vaughn replied. He knew leaving without being able to remember who this guy was would just nag at him for the rest of the day.  
  
Vaughn sat down at a vacant table next to the couple and caught pieces of their conversation using his keen spy skills.  
  
"Will, you need to keep going with this story! McNeil's daughter came to you!" the brunette commanded.  
  
"Will! Sydney's friend Will," Vaughn thought triumphantly. He relaxed and took a sip of his coffee. In fact, he was just about to get up when Will said something incredibly startling.  
  
"No Jenny. I already told you, I'm dropping the SD-6 story. I don't want to get killed!" he retorted firmly.  
  
Vaughn started choking on his coffee.  
  
"Hey man, you okay?" Will leaned over and asked.  
  
Vaughn managed to squeeze out a hoarse, "Fine," before rushing out to his car. He sped like a madman all the way to the warehouse, his senses heightened. When he arrived, he barely remembered to put the car in park before jumping out and rushing toward Sydney.  
  
"Sydney!" he gasped, out of breath. "Sydney! Will knows...Will knows about SD-6!"  
  
She stared back at him in utter shock. "Are you sure?"  
  
"I overheard him in Starbucks. He was talking with a girl named Jenny. He's doing a story about it, I guess for his paper," Vaughn panted. "He wants to stop - because he's afraid of being killed!"  
  
Sydney's jaw dropped. "How in the world could he possibly know?" she asked, racking her brain for a slight slip she may have committed.  
  
"I don't know," Vaughn replied somberly, "but I'm not so sure he's going to stop writing it. Apparently somebody's daughter came to him to press him to write it."  
  
"Who's daughter, Vaughn? Did you hear a name?" Sydney asked frantically. She didn't panic much, but this was putting her on high alert.  
  
"McNeil," he replied.  
  
Sydney thought for a moment, then uttered, "I know that name! He's in jail. Oh no..." she trailed off.  
  
"What?" Vaughn asked. "What?"  
  
"I have a bad feeling that Will is going to go through with this. He's in way over his head. I'm calling in sick for my trip tomorrow and going over to Will's place to see what he knows. I'm not going anywhere until I make sure he's safe from SD-6," she planned resolutely as she walked briskly to her car, leaving Vaughn behind, speechless.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	2. Chapter 2

Summary: Will digs deeper when he follows Sydney to the warehouse...  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 2  
  
Sydney jumped into her car and burned rubber as she cautiously peeled out of her parking spot. She only had one thing on her mind: "I am not losing anyone else to SD-6."  
  
She whizzed through downtown L.A. and skidded to a halt in front of Will's house. She got out of her red truck and impatiently knocked on his door.  
  
She saw him not so subtly peer through the blinds and open the door eagerly.  
  
"Syd!" Will smiled. "What's up?" The distressed look on Sydney's face made him ask if she was ok.  
  
Sydney pushed him inside, making it clear that she was in control.  
  
"I found out about your investigation."  
  
Will opened his mouth to ask how she knew but Sydney played the Danny card before he could utter a word.  
  
"I can't believe you would do something like this to me, Will. I'm finally starting to move on from Danny and here you are trying to dig him back up. I need you to leave this alone, completely alone. It's not a request," she warned him. Paradoxically, she prayed that she had hurt Will. Hurt him enough to save him.  
  
"Syd, I'm sorry," he stammered, forgetting about how she had known about the story. "I thought you would want some closure and I thought I could give that to you. You know I would never..."  
  
"I know," she cut him off. "But Will, just stop."  
  
He came closer to offer an apologetic hug, but Sydney turned silently and left.  
  
-------  
  
Just when Sydney got home, it started to pour. She sat down to write a term paper, since SD-6 thought she was out sick. But her mind kept wandering back to Will and his story. What if he didn't stop? What if he got too close and SD-6 killed him? She couldn't handle losing anyone else.  
  
"You got my number..." Vaughn's words suddenly entered Sydney's head.  
  
Before she could act on that thought, Francie came barging through the front door.  
  
"Man, it is treacherous out there!" she said, shaking the water off her coat. She came over to the counter and gave her roommate a hug. "Another paper, huh? Man, you never quit!" Francie said with a smile.  
  
"I called in sick to the bank," Sydney informed her. "There was no way I could go to work and have this paper done on time!" she lied.  
  
"Ugh, I don't blame you for not going to work! Damn bank--" Francie started to say, but was cut off by the phone.  
  
"Wrong number," she uttered in frustration before hanging up. "If someone calls for that pizza place again..." Francie trailed off.  
  
Pizza place. Vaughn. Sydney's heart skipped a beat.  
  
"Ugh, you know, I have to go to the library to finish up my research for this paper, I'll see you in a few hours!" Sydney said. She packed up her books and headed out into the rain.  
  
-------  
  
Right when Sydney turned off of her street, Will turned on to the street from the other end and saw the back of her car disappear around the corner.  
  
"Shit," Will thought, "I just missed her." He had come to talk to her about the story. Tell her the truth. Tell her how much he loved her and would never do this to hurt her. Will decided to follow her car. "She's probably just going to the store anyway," he told himself as he passed Sydney's house and turned off her street, glimpsing her car about a block ahead of his.  
  
As Sydney's car led Will throughout unfamiliar terrain, he dropped back some. He didn't want her to discover him and think he was trying to stalk her or anything, but her joyride with its unknown destination had peaked his interest.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Will watched from afar as Sydney parked her truck and cautiously entered an old warehouse. What the hell was going on? Relying on his reporter's intuition, Will parked his car and tiptoed into the warehouse, following Sydney's path. He hid behind some boxes and saw her on the other side of a chain link fence, talking to a man he had never seen before. Will silently inched closer and strained his ears to listen.  
  
-------  
  
"Did you have any trouble getting here?" Vaughn asked Sydney.  
  
"No," she replied automatically, having not noticed any tails because of the horrible visibility.  
  
Silence.  
  
"What happened after you left this morning?" Vaughn asked as he looked down.  
  
"I went to Will's. I told him to stop," Sydney replied flatly.  
  
"Does he know anything...about you?"  
  
"Of course not," she said. "I told him that doing a story on Danny upset me too much." She paused. "I don't think he understands the big picture at all," she uttered softly.  
  
"Well make sure he never sees it. Now, let's talk about your countermission for tomorrow."  
  
"I'm not going. I told you I was calling in sick," Sydney replied sternly.  
  
"I didn't think you were serious--"  
  
"I said I wasn't going anywhere until I made sure my friend was safe."  
  
"Sydney, you can't just back out of missions to take care of your friends! The fate of the country is at stake! You would help Will most by going and helping to bring down SD-6!" Vaughn reprimanded her.  
  
-------  
  
With all the things rushing his brain, Will had forgotten to breathe.  
  
After that, his brain needed some serious oxygen.  
  
"Sydney's a part of this SD-6 mess?" he thought. "How could Sydney possibly be involved with McNeil and the two murders? And this stuff about countermissions and the fate of the country? What the hell is going on?"  
  
Will stepped out from his hiding place.  
  
"Sydney!" he yelled, at a loss for any other words. Sydney and Vaughn whirled around, Vaughn pulling out a gun and pointing it at him.  
  
"Put the gun away Vaughn, it's Will," she motioned, but he had already noticed.  
  
"You better explain this Syd. What in God's name is going on here?"  
  
Sydney stood still, not speaking. She was busy reaching into the dark corners of her mind, trying to think of some halfway rational explanation.  
  
Vaughn looked at her, saw her eyelids blinking faster than normal.  
  
And before Sydney could come up with anything she saw a red dot move across Will's cheek.  
  
"Get down!" she yelled desperately, rushing towards Will to push him down.  
  
Almost instantaneously, the warehouse became a waterfall of bullets. The three lay on the floor, covering their heads and trying to safely see who the shooter was with no avail.  
  
Sydney slithered towards the gate on her stomach, finally stopping when she was staring at a pair of black leather boots. She looked up and squinted in the glare of the red light.  
  
"Hello Sydney," buzzed the deep voice of Anna Espinosa.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	3. Chapter 3

Summary: Sydney is faced with a shocker...  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 3  
  
"What are you doing here?" Sydney growled.  
  
"Oh, the usual," she replied lightly. Anna swirled her gun around and put it back into her holster. "Running silly errands for my father. I believe you know him," she quipped.  
  
Sydney got up and dusted herself off. "Why don't you quit with the small talk and tell me just what you know," she snapped. Sydney took a step forward.  
  
-------  
  
Back in the gated square of the warehouse, Vaughn crawled over to Will. "Don't say anything," he harshly whispered. "Just try to make your way to the corner and stay there until I give you the ok."  
  
"Hey," he whispered back, "I don't know who you think you are, but Sydney is my best friend and I plan on protecting her!"  
  
"Trust me, she can handle herself," Vaughn snapped. "If you do anything to endanger any one of us, including yourself, I will shoot you in the leg." Vaughn saw the startled but slightly skeptical look on Will's face, but ignored it and nudged him over towards the wall.  
  
-------  
  
"What makes you think I know anything?" Anna asked.  
  
"Why else would you be in an abandoned warehouse in L.A. where I happen to be at the same time?" Sydney sarcastically shot back. "Tell me," she ordered.  
  
"Well I already said I was running errands for my father. But you should know that K-Directorate doesn't send people on normal errands," she said with a smirk.  
  
"Your father works for K-Directorate?"  
  
"Oh yes. You're not the only one with a father in the spy trade." Anna came closer. "And you're not the only one whose father is a double agent," she whispered fiercely.  
  
Sydney stared back at her in shock. Did Anna know about her too? Shit.  
  
-------  
  
Anna could read the disgruntled look on Sydney's face - and she didn't care.  
  
Anna smiled. She was going to have some fun with her pawn before she disposed of it.  
  
"Hey dad," she called behind her, "can you come here for a second? There's someone I want you to talk to..."  
  
-------  
  
Sydney could make out a man's figure emerge from the shadows behind Anna. Her eyes followed his face as he was illuminated.  
  
He walked over to Anna and planted a light kiss on her forehead before turning to face Sydney.  
  
"Hey Syd!" Marcus Dixon said cheerfully.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	4. Chapter 4

Summary: Sydney learns the truth about her partner and Will sees the CIA enter the picture...  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 4  
  
Sydney stared into the fiery eyes of her partner, Dixon, her own eyes filled with terror, confusion, and condescending awe. A million thoughts submerged her brain; before she could speak Dixon did.  
  
"Come on now Syd, you never wondered how Anna always showed up where you did? She never showed up for anyone else. Just you. Because you are my partner." Dixon smirked and began pacing while Anna pulled her gun back out and kept it trained on Sydney. "I might as well tell you how I know about you. You're a good girl Sydney, you are. You deserve to know before you die."  
  
-------  
  
With Will finally hiding against the wall, Vaughn could inch close enough to comprehend Sydney's situation without having to worry about Will getting everyone killed.  
  
He smoothly snaked his way to the gate, shielding himself behind some boxes. He saw a man begin pacing and heard her telling Sydney that she was a good girl. "Bastard," Vaughn thought. As he looked more closely, he realized that it was Sydney's SD-6 partner, Dixon. He scanned the area and also saw Anna Espinosa. "Great," he thought sarcastically as two and two came together. Vaughn began to build a plot in his head while allowing his ears to let in everything Dixon was saying.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney stood rigid as she allowed Dixon's words to penetrate her.  
  
"This is actually very simple, Sydney," he began. "I work for K-Directorate. So does my daughter," he said bluntly, gesturing towards Anna. "I happen to be a double agent, working undercover at SD-6. You see, we know that your father is a double agent. And we know that it is for the CIA. After your mother died, pretty much everyone in the spy business found out about your father. Except for Sloane. He wasn't a problem yet. When SD-6 really started to come into the picture, we learned that your father was working for them, and it was obvious to us that SD-6 was not where his true loyalties lied. So I too began working there as a mole. But he had upper level clearance. So I couldn't off him. I needed him to get more of SD-6's secrets for K-Directorate. But it was a lot of sneaking around, a lot of messy incidents. It wasn't working out too well for me. But then they recruited you. You were the key. I became your partner, and soon we were infiltrating everything together. But  
it was too hard for me to keep giving SD-6 fake copies of everything. It was apparent that they would discover me soon. So I employed my daughter to help out. If Anna could just get the information instead of you, I wouldn't have to worry about any dirty work."  
  
"So being a rogue spy isn't dirty work?" Sydney spat out.  
  
"Shut up!" Dixon yelled. "Don't you want to hear the rest?" he smiled.  
  
Sydney looked down and behind her left shoulder, trying to direct her eyes as far away from Dixon as possible. He disgusted her. Her eyes were closed, but when Dixon began speaking again, she opened them. And she spotted Vaughn on the floor.  
  
"Look at me when I talk to you!" Dixon snapped.  
  
Sydney desperately pried her eyes away from Vaughn's concerned gaze and turned back to glumly face Dixon.  
  
"Then, the mole issue came up again. But I hadn't done anything. So I knew it must have been someone else. Your father was much too high up; he was too careful to ever be caught. But you - you could have been the mole. Sloane gave up on you, but I wasn't so sure. The apple doesn't far fall from the tree you know," he winked. "I've been tailing you for two months now, Sydney. I know your secret. You see, I don't want to kill you. You're a very good spy. But you're too good. Too much of the information K-Directorate needs is slipping through the cracks and the CIA is getting it. And that's not good for us. Not for me either. But especially not for you."  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn had a plan. Sydney's back was to him, Dixon and Anna were facing him. If he could jump out quickly enough, he could push Sydney into Dixon to knock them to the floor and he could proceed to take out Anna before she could do any damage. He took the gun out of his coat and clicked the safety off. He crept up onto his knees, still hidden by the boxes.  
  
He glanced back at Will. He was gone. Vaughn was momentarily alarmed, but realized that Will couldn't have gotten far. He certainly wasn't near Sydney or he would have seen him. Vaughn concluded that he should forget about Will. Suddenly and sharply, he jumped out from behind the boxes and rammed into Sydney.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney felt a strong, painful elbow digging into her back so hard that she found herself falling forward into Dixon. She didn't waste any time. She landed on top of Dixon, and began pummeling him with all her might. She heard gunshots and saw Anna drop to the floor out of the corner of her eye. Anna's blood began to stain the floor surrounding her father's body and Sydney knew she was dead.  
  
-------  
  
After he shot Anna, Vaughn moved quickly to Sydney to pull her off of Dixon so he could kill him. It was a struggle. Sydney was dead set on beating Dixon to a pulp. Dixon's breath was coming in short wheezes and he was bleeding.  
  
"Sydney, stop," Vaughn commanded with no avail. Sydney continued to beat him. Vaughn kept trying unsuccessfully to remove her. As he was trying to pull her off, he saw something shiny out of the corner of his eye. Suddenly Sydney shrieked in pain and recoiled, jumping off of Dixon in a flash. Dixon lay on the floor, seemingly unconscious. Vaughn shot him once right through the heart. He turned his back calmly and tended to Sydney.  
  
"The bastard cut my arm," she groaned. Vaughn immediately removed his tie and looped it around her arm as a tunicate. He put his hands on her waist. "Thanks," she managed to smile before leaning her head on Vaughn's shoulder and crying.  
  
-------  
  
She had tried to hold back, but her emotions overpowered her. Sydney began to weep on Vaughn. She almost instantaneously felt his arms envelop her as she let everything out.  
  
"Don't worry," Vaughn whispered, "Dixon and Anna are dead and SD-6 is almost taken down. All this deception is going to be over very soon."  
  
Sydney just cried.  
  
"Syd?" Will called timidly, breaking the moment.  
  
She sniffled and told him everything was ok, her voice shaky.  
  
Will emerged from the back and rushed over to her, stroking her face, asking if she was alright. He didn't even care what had happened - for the moment. He just wanted to treasure Sydney in all her glory.  
  
Vaughn looked over at him skeptically, loosening his hug. "Where did you disappear to?" he asked.  
  
"I snuck out to another part of the warehouse and called the police on my cell," he replied. Sydney and Vaughn looked at each other as they faintly heard approaching sirens.  
  
"Will, maybe you should get out of here," Sydney suggested, pulling away from Vaughn. "Thank you for calling the police, but you don't really want to be involved in all this now. I'll give the police your address and they can talk to you later," she lied while wiping away her tears.  
  
"No way, Syd, I am not letting you out my sight again," he said firmly. She knew she wasn't going to win this one.  
  
-------  
  
Police stormed the warehouse seconds later. When they made sure it was clear, they approached the three. Vaughn took a step forward and flashed his CIA identification.  
  
"This is CIA business gentlemen," he said respectfully. "Please contact Langley and tell them to send Agents Weiss, Bristow, and Devlin down here immediately." The policemen nodded and trudged off, disappointed that the situation was out of their league.  
  
When they were gone, Will glared at Sydney. "CIA?" he said angrily. "You better explain this all to me right now."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	5. Chapter 5

Summary: Will and Francie learn the "truth" and Sydney pays a late night visit to Vaughn's house...  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 5  
  
Sydney walked over to Vaughn and lightly brushed her lips against his. "I'll see you later sweetie," she whispered loudly enough for Will to hear, and gently stroked his arm before turning around. "Come on Will, I'll explain on the way home," she said and pulled a confused Will with her.  
  
She had goosebumps all over.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn's mouth hung open as he watched Sydney walk away. He was shocked. He was sweating. His hands were trembling. He had momentarily forgotten all about the present situation; he was on cloud nine. And he knew why.  
  
-------  
  
"Shouldn't we wait until those people from the CIA get here?" Will asked, confused. "I think one of them had your same last name," he said.  
  
"There's no relation," Sydney said quickly, not having any interest in seeing her father now. "Let's just go." In fact, she had to go before they arrived so as not to blow her cover any further. "Where's your car?" she asked, "I'll come back for mine tomorrow."  
  
-------  
  
Sydney fastened her seatbelt and shut the passenger door of Will's car. They emerged from the warehouse and Sydney checked around for the arriving CIA agents. She didn't see them.  
  
As soon as they were away from the area, away from any immediate danger, away from the chance of running into any CIA people, Sydney began to tell Will yet another lie.  
  
"Ok," she sighed, "here's the story. That man, his name is Michael Vaughn. He works for the CIA. And I've sort of been seeing him. I couldn't tell you because of his job - you know, national safety and all," she laughed anxiously. "Anyway, I was supposed to meet him here --"  
  
"In a warehouse?" Will asked, skeptically.  
  
"He told me to meet him there because he had a surprise for me," she said quietly.  
  
"Yeah a double homicide - gee, that's a good way to impress a girl."  
  
"Come off it, Will, he was obviously followed!"  
  
"Well why did they talk to you then, and not him?"  
  
"I don't know, Will," she answered. "I guess they thought they had shot him so they tried to get the information they wanted out of me. Luckily he killed them before they did anything drastic to get it out of me." It felt odd for her to say Michael instead of Vaughn. It didn't roll off her tongue as easily. And Vaughn sounded so much sexier.  
  
"So he tells you about his missions? As a citizen, that comforts me," Will said cynically.  
  
"Only a few things," Sydney replied.  
  
She sat in silence, waiting for Will to ask her about Dixon's monologue and what the hell he had been talking about. But he didn't. Sydney assumed he had left before that point.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Will said bluntly, "You know, Syd, I'm really sick of your lies. You could have just told us about him. I'm sure us knowing about your boyfriend wouldn't have placed the country in any immediate danger," he said sarcastically, and harshly.  
  
"It's not just his job," Sydney told him. "I didn't know how you and Francie would react to me dating, you know, after Danny..." she trailed off.  
  
"Syd, we would have been happy for you. It's about time you regained some happiness in your life," he said as he pulled up in front of Sydney's house.  
  
"Do you want to come in?" she offered.  
  
-------  
  
Will looked at Sydney as she asked him if he wanted to come in. She looked so innocent, so pristine, so delicate, so pure. It was hard for him to fathom that she was involved in all this CIA crap, even if it was indirectly.  
  
He wanted to come in, to hold her and caress her and stroke her; comfort her and tell her that everything would be all right. But it wasn't his place anymore. Sydney had a new man in her life. And as much as that hurt Will, he knew that coming in would just hurt him more.  
  
"I'd love to Syd," he sighed. "But I don't think I should."  
  
He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. "It'll be ok, I promise," he whispered.  
  
"Ok," Sydney gulped, trying to hold back her tears.  
  
She climbed out of the car and slowly trudged inside.  
  
-------  
  
"Sydney! Where have you been?" Francie rushed over as Sydney entered the house.  
  
As soon as the door shut behind her, Sydney began to weep uncontrollably.  
  
"Francie," she managed, "I have something to tell you."  
  
She relayed the same lie to Francie as she had to Will, speaking through her tears while Francie hugged her.  
  
"Shhh," Francie cooed, "everything is ok. I love you no matter who you're dating," she smiled.  
  
Sydney looked at her friend and smiled as well. She was so thankful for Francie. She knew Francie would never, ever shut her out.  
  
The two girls sat crying and hugging for a long time thereafter. Francie finally surrendered to bed, leaving Sydney alone in the living room.  
  
Sydney replayed the day's events in her head. Anna was Dixon's daughter. Dixon was a mole for K-Directorate. Will and Francie could now connect Sydney to the CIA, at least indirectly. And she had kissed Vaughn.  
  
Whatever image her friends had of Sydney's perfect life had changed today. She knew that they thought of her life as a perfect snowglobe. Anyone could look in through the glass and see her; diligent, hard-working, smiling Sydney Bristow. But no one could get in.  
  
Now that snowglobe was shattered. Her friends were one step closer to finding out about Sydney's double life, and the web of deception had just grown immensely.  
  
Once again, Vaughn's words crossed her mind: "You got my number..."  
  
This time, Sydney didn't hesitate.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn had just entered his house when his phone rang. He had just finished up debriefing the CIA on the warehouse episode. And it was 1 in the morning. Who would be calling him? Probably Devlin, he thought, wanting to clarify yet another detail.  
  
"Hello," he said, his voice husky with sleep - or lack thereof.  
  
"It's me," Sydney's voice replied. His heart skipped a beat and any thoughts of sleep immediately vanished.  
  
"Are you ok?" he asked tenderly.  
  
"I need to talk," she whispered. "I guess our meeting place is out of the question."  
  
"Yeah," he grinned. "We can't really go anywhere at this hour. Why don't you just come over?" he suggested, immediately smacking his forehead at the notion.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney pondered his proposition. Sloane still thought she was out sick, but she was sure he knew that Dixon had been murdered - and that he was a mole. He had probably relaxed her surveillance with this new proof that she was not the mole. Even if she couldn't shake a possible tail, which was highly unlikely, she could always use the one night stand excuse if Sloane questioned her.  
  
"Sounds good," she replied. "I'll be there soon," she said, hanging up.  
  
Sydney went to her bedroom before leaving. She changed into some sweatpant capris and a body fitting tank top. She brushed her hair, splashed cold water on her face, and smoothed some foundation over her cheekbones to hide the fact that she had been crying. She decided that this was a suitable look. She wrote Francie a note saying that she was going to "Michael's house" and she quietly left.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn too, changed his clothes, putting on sweatpants and a faded hockey t-shirt. He picked up some things that he had left scattered across his living room floor, tidying the small place up. When he finished, he put on a pot of coffee for he and Sydney to drink.  
  
He heard a knock on the door and opened it, letting a casually beautiful Sydney enter his house.  
  
"Any problems?" he inquired caringly.  
  
"Nope," she replied.  
  
He led her into his freshly cleaned living room and sat her down on his couch, resting himself down next to her. They sat in silence for a minute, then Sydney began to cry softly.  
  
"My partner..." she began, searching for words. "I mean, I thought he was good. Innocent. But he was just as much scum as the rest of them."  
  
Vaughn put his arm around Sydney's shoulders, bringing immediate warmth to them both.  
  
Sydney cried and spilled out all of her worries and thoughts to Vaughn. He was very receptive and comforting. Sydney's fears temporarily vanished. She truly felt safe with Vaughn. When she could say no more, Sydney just settled into him, inhaling his scent and dreaming of being able to wake up settled into him like this every morning.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn wrapped his arms tighter around Sydney as she nestled herself in his embrace. His pulse quickened, remembering her sudden kiss in the warehouse and dreaming of being able to extend it.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney stopped crying. "Thank you Vaughn. I can't tell you what a good friend you are," she smiled.  
  
"I'm just glad I could bring that smile to your face. It's so beautiful," he said, accidentally uttering the last part.  
  
Sydney blushed, and longed for Vaughn in a way that she never had before.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn immediately picked up on Sydney's desire, relieved that she felt it too. He brought his hands up to her face, gently cupping it. He rubbed his thumbs across her deep dimples and leaned closer.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	6. Chapter 6

Summary: Sydney and Vaughn finally get together, and Sydney's father gives her a perplexing offer...  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 6  
  
Sydney's pulse quickened when Vaughn began to caress her face. As he leaned closer, Sydney closed her eyes.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn too closed his eyes, blindly stumbling into the uncharted territory that was Sydney Bristow.  
  
-------  
  
Their lips met. The kiss was tender, but both of them felt immediately electrified. Sydney wrapped her arms around Vaughn's neck and he gently slid his hands down to stroke the nape of her neck. Their light kiss soon grew into a heated quest for more and more passion. Vaughn removed his hands from Sydney's neck, bringing them under her arms to massage her lower back. Both of them had voices in the back of their heads that were questioning what they were doing. But both of them knew that there was no turning back now.  
  
Vaughn pulled away for air, gulping it in quickly so that they could resume their activities as soon as possible. But Sydney couldn't wait. She began kissing Vaughn's neck, causing a small moan to escape from his lips. Vaughn pulled Sydney's face back up to his with his thumb, and deeply kissed her as he moved over her so that she was lying down on the couch; he making quite a warm human blanket. He traced his fingers over the contours of Sydney's sculpted stomach while she roughly tousled his hair.  
  
Clothing soon flew as Sydney and Vaughn erupted in amorous fury. Finally, they lay together, spooning on his couch and desperately vying for air.  
  
"Vaughn," Sydney gasped, "you know this is going to change things."  
  
"Is that a problem for you?" he said with a crooked smile and a peck on the back of her neck.  
  
"Of course not," she beamed.  
  
"Then we'll just have to be extra careful," he managed to sputter. Sydney had rolled over and was kissing everywhere across his bare chest and shoulders, making Vaughn hardly able to see straight.  
  
"Maybe even bring a mattress into our new meeting place," she husked between kisses.  
  
"Hmmm," Vaughn moaned in agreement. "And some blankets..."  
  
Sydney lips intensely cut him off.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney quickly blinked her eyes, trying to block out the sun's stinging rays. It was morning. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. She was on Michael Vaughn's couch. Their bodies were so close that they were sculpted into one conjoined shape. He was behind her, one arm loosely draped over her stomach. They were covered with nothing more than a single afghan. Sydney smiled, soaking in the blissful morning, before cautiously slipping out from underneath his arm and rising, taking the afghan to wrap around her.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn awoke from the most peaceful sleep he could ever remember having. Sydney Bristow had spent the night. The mere notion made Vaughn smile from ear to ear. He stood up and stretched as Sydney emerged from his bathroom, dressed and glowing, ready with a smile for a new day.  
  
"That's no way to greet a woman!" Sydney jokingly scolded. She threw him the afghan. Vaughn blushed as he quickly realized that he was naked.  
  
They walked towards each other and Vaughn swept Sydney up into his arms and kissed her.  
  
"That's more like it," she sighed.  
  
-------  
  
Vaughn tore himself away from Sydney to make them breakfast. He opened his fridge and pulled out some eggs, playful juggling them. Sydney laughed.  
  
"God, she's beautiful when she laughs," Vaughn thought to himself. "How do you like your eggs, madam?" he asked.  
  
"Just scrambled," she smiled.  
  
Vaughn made the eggs while Sydney set the table, absent-mindedly searching through his kitchen for silverware and plates. When they sat down to eat, Sydney took their rendezvous down a more serious road.  
  
"I'm going to tell Will and Francie that we broke up," she said bluntly. "Because of the warehouse thing and all. If they think I'm still dating you, they can keep on connecting me to the CIA. And then everyone will just be in more danger."  
  
Vaughn reached his hand across the table to grasp hers. "But then you'll just have to sneak around even more. You already have to keep them away from SD-6 and the CIA. And now me?" Vaughn knew that Sydney's proposition was the best one. But he wanted someone, somewhere, to just know that they were together. He longed to be remotely open with Sydney, relationship-wise, around others. Even if it was just in front of Francie and Will.  
  
She squeezed his hand. "It's for the best," she hummed. Vaughn gave her a silent look of understanding. "Thanks for everything. I--" she paused.  
  
"I know," Vaughn whispered. "I feel it too."  
  
They both smiled, and Sydney got up to leave, kissing Vaughn's forehead on her way out.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney's truck rolled down her street, but it's usual curbside parking spot was already occupied by a sleek black towncar. "Dad," she muttered to herself.  
  
As soon as she shut off her engine, Jack Bristow stepped out of his car. "Get in," he ordered.  
  
"Why don't we just--"  
  
"Now."  
  
Sydney glared at her father, but silently slid into his passenger seat. He climbed in and swiftly maneuvered the car out of her neighborhood. They drove in silence for around twenty minutes. Finally, Jack came to a halt in a vacant lot.  
  
"Look, neither one of us has much time," he began. "I know you thought that Sloane finding out that Dixon was a mole would let you off the hook. On the contrary. It only made him more suspicious of you. He finds it incredibly hard to believe that you worked hand in hand with Dixon for seven years and never suspected him of anything. Your heightened suspicion implicates me as well. But since Sloane has known me longer and trusts me more, I am pretty safe for the time being. I bought you a plane ticket to Oslo, Norway," he said, holding out a ticket to her. "I urge you to go," he commanded coldly.  
  
"Why should I? How can I even be sure what you're saying is true? After all, if Sloane doesn't trust you as much, how would you know any of this?" she demanded.  
  
"Forget about how I know what I know. I have upper level clearance. I have access to pretty much everyone and everything. Now, time is running out Sydney. Get on this plane!" He handed her a slip of paper with an address on it. "When you get to Oslo, go here. Don't worry, it's not a safehouse. It has no affiliation with either organization. It's just a vacant condo that belongs to an old friend. Go," he repeated.  
  
Sydney said nothing. She focused her gaze on the ticket and the address. She gave herself a headache from staring so harshly. Her father picked up on her uncertainty.  
  
"By going to Oslo, a lot of loose ends will come together for you. And you'll be much safer there than here," he coaxed strictly, warming up a bit to his daughter.  
  
She raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Drive me to the airport," she asserted.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	7. Chapter 7

Summary: Sydney finally learns the truth about her mother...  
  
Author's note: Sorry about the HTML codes on the other chapters, I had them there from posting the story elsewhere and forgot to delete them! But there are no codes on this chapter, so enjoy!  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 7  
  
Sydney sat in her first class window seat. If there was only one perk about her job, it was definitely getting to fly first class everywhere.  
  
Her father had mapped out Sydney's cover story to her on the way to the airport. He had bought the ticket to Oslo under her CIA alias, and had bought another ticket to Salt Lake City under her SD-6 alias. He had hired a lower level agent to take the flight to Salt Lake so that if Sloane tracked it, it would appear to him that Sydney truly had gone there. He was going to tell Sloane that she had been so distraught over everything regarding Dixon that she decided to escape for a few days, three maximum.  
  
Sydney thought it was a pretty weak cover. Incredibly weak, in fact. She had used it before. But she was on her way to Oslo, and there was nothing Sloane could do to stop her.  
  
She gazed blankly out the window, wondering what "loose ends" her father had mentioned would come together. Maybe it had something to do with her mother. "God knows there are a lot of loose ends there," she thought.  
  
Maybe the trip would reveal something new about her father. At this point, nothing about her father could phase her.  
  
These fragmented thoughts encased Sydney's brain and led her into a restless sleep.  
  
-------  
  
She awoke to the pilot cheerfully announcing in Norwegian that they would landing momentarily. "Another perk," Sydney thought, "being able to understand the airplane staff pretty much anywhere you go. Who knew there could be two perks to this hellish job?" she thought.  
  
She put her seat upright, unfastened her seatbelt, and walked off the plane. She had no luggage, not even a carry on.  
  
She stepped outside into the brisk Norwegian air, the sun's steaming rays barely able to penetrate the permafrost. She crossed her arms across her chest, trying to gain more warmth, and slightly lifted one hand to hail a cab.  
  
-------  
  
The cab driver whipped through rural Oslo and dropped Sydney off at the address her father had given her. It was a quaint, one floor country cottage. She could not even see another house across the sloping fields. The house looked like it had not been used recently.  
  
She cautiously opened the front door, having garnered a key from under the faded welcome mat. The house was modestly but comfortably furnished, the welcoming furniture was sparse.  
  
She stepped inside and shut the door behind her, taking in the contents of the main room.  
  
There was a brick fireplace, crowned with a mantle. The mantle was adorned with pictures. Facing the fireplace was a cherry wood coffee table and a worn in looking mauve couch, faded from the sun pouring in the generously large windows. The windows had drapes that matched the couch, as well as blackout curtains. In a corner, there was a single white rocking chair. The floor was hardwood, with throw rugs scattered here and there. It looked like a typical vacation home.  
  
Sydney walked over to the fireplace, looking at the pictures.  
  
There were six altogether. One of her as a toddler, playing in a yard. One of her father and mother, obviously taken many years prior. One of her mother cradling Sydney as a baby. One of her as a child with her parents on a picnic. One of her mother alone, not smiling but looking serenely beautiful. Tears welled up in Sydney's eyes as she tried to remember her mother the way she had for so many years. Before she discovered that her mother was s killer.  
  
The pictures gave away that this was obviously Jack's old vacation home, not one of his friends'. But there was still another picture, behind the others.  
  
Sydney gasped as she looked at it.  
  
It was of Arvin Sloane, surrounded by both of Sydney's parents, standing in the main room of SD-6.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney wiped away her tears and went on a silent mission to search the house top and bottom. Her father and told her that loose ends would come together. The picture was a step, even the fact that it was apparently her father's vacation house contributed, but it was apparent that Sydney would have to do the rest alone.  
  
She practically ransacked each room in the house: the living room first, the kitchen, the bathroom, the master bedroom, and the guest bedroom. She found nothing.  
  
Sydney knew that if this house had belonged to her father then it was not going to be a typical house. She went back through every room, pressing on panels and knocking on walls hoping to find a hiding place of some kind.  
  
It was of no avail until she came to the guest bedroom. She unscrewed the knobs from the tops of the bed's head and foot bars. Beneath the knob of the bottom left corner, Sydney could faintly see an edge of paper sticking out. She pulled out three rolled up papers, tied together with a thin piece of twine. She pulled off the twine, unrolled the papers, and began to read.  
  
"Dear Sydney,  
  
If you are reading this letter, then it is time for the truth to come out. Your mother worked for SD-6, not the KGB. The orders for her to assassinate the CIA agents came in fact from Sloane, not the KGB. When she began being investigated by the FBI, Sloane set her up to look like a KGB agent instead of one of his own. Basically, she was set up to look like a mole, working "truthfully" for the KGB and trying to penetrate SD-6, the murders just a part of her plan. Your mother did know about this set up. Remember, all lower level SD-6 agents think that they are working for the CIA. If it came out that your mother killed CIA agents when she was supposed to be working for the CIA, everyone in SD-6 would have known who they were really working for and SD-6 would have been destroyed. I planted the codes in your mother's books under Sloane's orders. You are probably wondering why I let this happen, why I didn't just let SD-6 fall. There is no easy way for me to tell you, but you  
have to just trust that I had to let things run their course. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you must choose between SD-6 and the CIA, you will no doubt find yourself saving SD-6. Remember, we have to continually prove our loyalty in order to bring them down. Your mother was not evil. She did not know the truth about SD-6's negative affiliation. By following Sloane's orders, she thought she was helping her country. Laura Bristow was merely another one of Sloane's sacrificial lambs caught up in his deceitful web. Sydney, your mother was a good person. Think whatever you want of me for putting her in that awful position, but please just know that your mother was good.  
  
Dad."  
  
-------  
  
Sydney placed the papers down gently and wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face. It was no use. She was sobbing much too hard.  
  
"Your mother was good." That one phrase kept echoing in Sydney's head. It gave her a restless closure. Her mother was a good person, but at what price? Her father had followed orders to have her killed. "Cut him some slack Sydney," she told herself. "He didn't know she was going to die. He was just trying to help."  
  
The tears kept coming.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


	8. Chapter 8

Summary: Sydney returns home to learn that she and a special companion will soon be taking down SD-6 for good...  
  
Shattered Snowglobe, chapter 8  
  
Sydney Bristow awoke to the sun's bright rays streaming through the windowpane.  
  
She drowsily dragged herself to the bathroom, splashing her face with lukewarm water to wash away her dried tears.  
  
She looked at herself long and hard in the mirror.  
  
"I can't do it," she thought, her mind set on returning home. "I can't stay here any longer."  
  
Just days prior, she had considered quitting SD-6. Now, that seemed like a foolish copout. SD-6 had double crossed her, and now she knew that they had double crossed her mother.  
  
Double crossing Sydney was one thing. She could fend for herself. But no one messed with her mother, especially since she was no longer here to defend herself.  
  
"Sloane is going to pay," she said to her reflection through clenched teeth.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney had called for a cab on her cell phone. She left the cottage, not bothering to clean up from her hunt. She now waited in the airport for the next flight to Los Angeles.  
  
She was tired, disheveled, and hungry. But she didn't care.  
  
Her flight was finally called, and Sydney boarded the plane full of resolve.  
  
-------  
  
When she emerged from the 747 twelve hours later, she almost walked right past Vaughn, who was standing in front of a nearby newsstand. Sydney stopped next to him and pretended to leaf through the new issue of Vogue.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she hissed.  
  
"Our computers traced that you had booked a flight back. Your father told me where you went - and he told me about your mother," Vaughn whispered.  
  
Sydney had to fight hard to keep back her tears. "I'll meet you at the old mine outside of town in two hours," she said, knowing that the warehouse was out of the question. "Sloane won't know I'm back, so surveillance shouldn't be a problem," she muttered before rushing off.  
  
Vaughn could see her wipe away a tear as she wove herself through the crowd.  
  
-------  
  
Sydney drove to the abandoned mine an hour and a half later, freshly showered, changed, and fed.  
  
She turned on the radio to calm her nerves. The DJ announced, "this next song is called `Spies' by Coldplay! Enjoy!"  
  
"I awake to find no peace of mind,  
  
I said how can you live as a fugitive?  
  
Down here, where I cannot see so clear..."  
  
The lyrics trailed off as Sydney shut off her radio. "How appropriate," she mused sadly.  
  
She pulled up in front of the mine and parked. Vaughn was already there.  
  
She emerged from the car and was engulfed by Vaughn's comforting arms. But Sydney couldn't cry any more.  
  
They stood embracing, sharing in a mutually understood silent reverie.  
  
Sydney finally broke the silence.  
  
"We have to take them down," she commanded, "soon."  
  
"Well then I have good news for you," he smiled. Sydney pulled away and raised one eyebrow, silently urging him to continue.  
  
"The CIA received some intel last night while you were still in Oslo," he began. "We checked it out and everything has been confirmed. The Alliance is meeting a week from today in Milan. Sloane thinks that he and your father are going to that meeting. However, since Sloane is not a top Alliance member, he is unaware of what goes on in the Alliance meetings. Your father, being a member, is. We are sending eleven other agents to replace the other real agents in a fake meeting, at a different location - Athens. Your father has already given Sloane all the fake intel about the meeting. Basically, the CIA is going to have a sting like never before. The agents posing as Alliance members will demand everything from Sloane, his client list, his budget expenses, his payroll, even many of the contents of his vault, and Sloane won't suspect a thing. The agents will send the information back to you while Sloane is still staying in Athens, and you will take everything from the SD-6  
headquarters. Then the CIA can capture anyone on any of his lists, plus we'll have all his weapons and other toys." Vaughn let out a huge breath when he was finally finished.  
  
Sydney was bursting with joy. This was the moment she had been waiting for. She was going to take down that bastard Sloane. But there were still a few bases to cover.  
  
"I can't possibly do all that alone," she said.  
  
"Ah, that's where I come in," he winked. "I'm going in with you. We're going to take SD-6 down together." Grins spread across both of their faces, and Vaughn pulled Sydney closer for a deep kiss.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED... 


End file.
